Mountain GOAT: Tara Dakides, Dominating Slopestyle and Big Air for Nearly a Decade

Originally published in the 30th Anniversary Issue of SNOWBOARDER Magazine, Mountain GOATS celebrates the most influential snowboarders of the last thirty years (1987-2017), otherwise known as the Greatest Of All Time list. With over 70 men and women riding into the ranks of the Mountain GOATS, check back as we release their bios and celebrated accolades over the course of the next few weeks!

Mountain Goat: Tara Dakides

Before she-shredders had Full Moon, Misschief and Runway Films to call their own, a select group of ladies were picked to show their skills alongside the guys in snowboarding's premier productions, and Tara Dakides was one of the chosen. First appearing in the High Voltage release 1999 and then moving on to Mack Dawg's Amp and Stand and Deliver, Dakides routinely upstaged her male counterparts and solidified her place among the greats.

With backside rodeos as a stock sender, Dakides dominated the slopestyle and big air circuit for nearly a decade, earning 8 X Games medals and multiple SNOWBOARDER and TransWorld Female Rider of the Year Awards. As an ideal spokeswoman who not only had edgy sex appeal but also the skills to back it up, Dakides became a cottage industry unto herself with non-endemic endorsements for Campbell's Soup and Mountain Dew to supplement her stake in brands like Jeenyus and O-Matic. When the mainstream media came calling, Dakides picked up the phone, and was featured in an episode of MTV's Cribs, landed the cover of FHM Magazine and appeared as herself in Hollywood's most successful shredploitation flick to date, Out Cold.

In 2004, Dakides supplanted fame for infamy when she veered off of a fabricated ramp onto the street below while filming a stunt on the set of The Late Show With David Letterman. Though her injuries were minor, the resulting coverage was nothing short of major, with Tara making the talk show rounds in New York City, including an on-air visit with Howard Stern. Narrated by Alecia "Pink" Moore, 2008's Against The Grain is a feature-length documentary that delves into Tara's story, following her from her youth as a So Cal troublemaker to the pinnacle of success as a snowboarding superstar.